The subject invention relates generally to devices designed to warm persons participating in cold climate activities. More particularly, the invention relates to a seating device useful for warming the bodies and equipment of participants in cold-weather athletic events such as football games.
The desire to provide a heat source for those observers or participants in athletic events who are not actively engaged in the athletic contestxe2x80x94coaches, substitute players, the offensive or defensive squads that are alternatively on the sideline or on the playing field, etc.xe2x80x94has led to the development and use of various personnel warming devices. Known warmers include torpedo heaters and other space heaters designed to blow hot air into a general area, heated benches for seating, and heated bench-like structures that can be used as seats or that otherwise serve as radiant sources of heat. The present invention represents an improvement to known heated benches and bench-like structures, as it is a more effective and comfortable means of warming the entire body of a person who is required or desires to sit or stand for long periods of time in a cold environment.
Known heated benches have not been designed to be effective and convenient total body warmers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,246 to Jenkins discloses a bench wherein heated air under pressure is moved from a heating source through a conduit and into a mostly hollow bench structure. The Jenkins bench is perforated in multiple locations, thus providing necessary outlets for exhausting the pressurized air, and also creating streams of heated air blowing onto whoever is sitting on the bench. However, neither Jenkins nor any other known bench is effectively able to route this exhausted air so that it envelopes the entire body of the sitter(s) without the use of flexible hoses extending from the bench. The known benches are only effective when sat upon, and even then their effectiveness is limited to warming only the backside of the sitters. So in addition to only heating one side of the body, these benches also essentially deprive a person of the option of standing if that person wishes to experience any warmth at all.
In addition to the shortcomings discussed above, known heated benches do a particularly poor job of warming a person""s feet. Jenkins provides for a compartment at the back of the bench into which the feet may be inserted, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,615, also to Jenkins, provides a bench that requires a person to pull his lower legs and feet back into a compartment located in the front of the bench. In the first scenario, a person cannot warm his feet while simultaneously warming the rest of his body, because foot warming requires that the person stand behind the bench. In the second scenario, a person must sit uncomfortably to warm his feet.
Cylindrical bench-like structures, like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,223 to Huls, have also been used as heat sources for participants at outdoor athletic events. The Huls device operates on many of the same basic principles as do the heated benches, but lacks the advantage of providing a back support for anyone wishing to sit upon the device. This device has been equipped with perforations for exhausting hot air at regular intervals along the length and circumference of the device, however, making standing near the device more of an option than it is with a heated bench. But the person standing near the device will not be fully enveloped in heated air, thereby leaving the side of his or her body facing away from the device exposed to the cold. Another disadvantage is that one cannot sit on the device and simultaneously warm his feet. Foot warning requires that the person face the cylindrical heater, standing with his toes beneath the drum.
Providing a heat source for participants in cold-climate athletic events not only makes exposure to cold temperatures more bearable from a comfort standpoint, it also enhances the performance and safety of the participants in such conditions. For example, warm muscles are more limber and loss prone to injury than are muscles that become tight as a result of inactivity in cold temperatures. Moreover, in contact sports such as football, the force of a collision is less painfulxe2x80x94and potentially less injuriousxe2x80x94to a warm body.
Minimizing the risk of injury is obviously important in any activity, regardless of climate. And protecting the head is particularly important in activities where the potential for head trauma is high. As a result, helmets are often mandatory or highly recommended equipment for participation in such activities. Logically, maintaining a helmet in its optimal condition helps optimize the helmet""s effectiveness. It has been observed, however, that when a helmet is exposed to cold temperatures, its padding can be adversely affected, and the helmet""s effectiveness can be compromised.
A helmet""s padding serves the dual purpose of absorbing the force of a blow to the helmet and ensuring that the helmet fits its wearer properly. To do this consistently, the padding must be able to maintain its elasticity in all conditions and circumstances. But when cold, the padding hardens. When its pads harden, a helmet becomes difficult to put on, and more importantly, the helmet""s ability to protect the head is compromised. Instead of absorbing the force of a blow to the helmet, the hardened pads become an instrument through which the force is delivered to the head. The helmet""s wearer is thereby exposed to a greater risk of head injury.
Heat radiating from a player""s head generally keeps the padding in his helmet from hardening in cold temperatures. But it is not always practical or desirable for a football player to wear his helmet when not participating in the game or practice. In addition to the padding of his helmet hardening, a secondary problem often arises when a player removes his helmetxe2x80x94the player frequently forgets where he placed it when he took it off.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an apparatus which effectively heats the interior padding of helmets or other equipment, while providing a structure for the convenient placement of such equipment.
It is another objective of this invention to provide an efficient and effective heating system for warming the entire body of a person required or desiring to sit or stand for extended periods in a cold environment.
According to one embodiment, the invention provides a seating device or a personnel warming system having an improved heated bench in combination with a heated deck which extends from a base of the footwall of the bench. A person may either sit on the bench with his feet resting on the deck in front of him, or he may stand on the deck itself. In either case, the invention effectively provides heat to the person""s entire body, especially including the feet.
The bench is a substantially hollow structure that is warmed by heated air that is forced into an interior space defined by the bench. The entire outer surface of the bench is warmed by this process. The heated pressurized air is exhausted from the interior space of the bench and into a substantially hollow deck which extends outwardly from the base of the footwall of the bench. The deck has perforations in its top surface through which the heated, pressurized air is exhausted from the bench.
The bench configuration described above takes maximum advantage of the hot air that is exhausted from the heating system, creating a zone of hot air directly in front of the bench and above its deck that is sufficiently large enough to heat the front side of a person sitting on the bench. While sitting on the bench, a person""s feet would be resting comfortably on the heated deck in front of him, keeping his feet warm and placing his lower legs in the path of the exhausted hot air. Moreover, the front side of the person""s upper torso would also be in the zone of heated air.
The present invention also provides a person with the option of standing on the deck and still experiencing full body warmth. The zone of heated air originating from the perforations in the top surface of the deck extends high enough to fully envelope a person that is standing on the deck. The deck is an especially effective heating source when the person standing on it is wearing a parka or other long overgarment that is open at its bottom. In this situation, the hot air rising from the deck fills the interior space defined by the garment worn by the person standing over the exhaust. In the case of a parka worn in conjunction with the use of the present invention, the garment will retain its designed shape and the hot air exhausted from the deck is essentially trapped within the garment, providing additional warmth for the wearer. As the use of parkas is common among football teams, this is a significant advantage.
The present invention contemplates, in one embodiment, a seating device having a heated helmet rack. The seating device comprises a bench fluidly connected to an air source, the bench having a frontal wall, a deck, and defining an interior space. The bench receives air from the air source into its interior space and exhausts the air through perforations in the frontal wall into the deck. The deck defines an interior space into which the air is received. The deck has a top surface and extends from the frontal wall of the bench. The air is exhausted from the deck through perforations in its top surface. The seating device also has a rack structure comprising a heating element, a duct having a plurality of substantially hollow posts, each of the posts having a terminal support, and each terminal support having at least one opening.
Another aspect of the heating rack is that the heating element be an electric heater or the air source of the bench. In an embodiment where the heating element is the air source, the heating rack is attached to the bench by a series of hollow connectors which allow the air received into the bench from the air source to be exhausted out of the bench through the connectors and into the duct. In accordance with another aspect of this embodiment of the invention, the bench and the heating rack comprise a unibody construction comprised of injection-molded fiberglass.
The present invention contemplates, in another embodiment of the invention, a rack for heating helmets and other equipment comprising a heating element fluidly connected to a duct, the duct having a plurality of hollow posts, each of the posts having a terminal support, and each terminal support having a top surface and at least one opening. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the heating element is an electric heater; in accordance with another aspect of the invention, the heating element is a substantially hollow bench into which heated air is received from an air source, and to which the rack is mounted.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the top surface of the terminal support is dome-shaped. The terminal support can be comprised of a cap having a diameter of 4 to 4.5 inches and a height of 4 to 4.5 inches.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the duct comprises a linear arrangement of a plurality of duct sections and tee connectors; a post is joined to the duct at each tee connector. The rack may also comprise a plurality of support structures that allow the rack to be mounted on vertical or horizontal surfaces, or to be a free-standing device.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the rack comprises a unibody injection-molded construction having either an electric heater or a substantially hollow bench into which heated air is received from an air source as its heating element.
A benefit of the present invention is that it prevents the padding in football or other helmets from hardening in cold temperatures. Another benefit of the present invention is that its rack framework provides a structure for the convenient placement of helmets, therefore making it easier for a player to locate his own helmet when it is needed.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings and detailed discussions presented below.